This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem: The client is experiencing issues with the WPML plugin on their German-speaking site. The Translation Management is not saving changes, and when switching languages using the language flags, the site briefly shows German but reverts to English. Some text remains in German while the rest reverts to English, including older versions of text and missing capital letters in titles. Solution: We obtained access to the site and could not spot any content that was having an issue with its translation. The client did not provide any examples. Acording to our findings we recommended using the WordPress Editor only for the original content and then translating it using the WPML Translation Editor for each language. Avoid editing translations directly in the WordPress Editor as the WPML Translation Editor cannot recognize these changes and will overwrite them. If WPML is disabled, it is expected that duplicated pages will appear and be assigned to the site's default language, as WPML does not remove translated pages and posts by default.
If you're experiencing similar issues or if this solution does not resolve your problem, it might be outdated or not applicable to your specific case. We highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If the issue persists, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum for further assistance.
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Background of the issue:
I am working on a site under development at hidden link. The client is German-speaking, and I have set up WPML for them to change English to German. I have read all the documentation and forums related to the issue.
Symptoms:
The translation manager is not saving changes. When switching languages using the language flags, the site briefly shows German but reverts to English. Some text remains in German while the rest is in English. English text reverts to older versions, and capital letters are removed from titles.
Questions:
What do you propose to resolve the issue with translations not saving?
How can I ensure the language flags work correctly without reverting?
What steps can I take to prevent text from reverting to older versions?
hi Andreas this has happened on all pages through the website. There are 14 of them including the T&Cs/privacy & cookie policy. We were just ready to go live today but this issue started happening on Monday so I've removed the plugin. If this is something you would want to see happening I will make a copy staging site of the website to work on and give you hosting access.
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )German (Deutsch )
Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)
Hello,
Access to a staging site would be ideal to investigate the issue, but please make sure that WPML is registered on this site.
I would like to offer to have a closer look at the problem and request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to the website to investigate this issue further.
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Please be sure to make a backup copy of the website and database before allowing us access.
If you can't see the wp-admin / FTP fields, your post and website credentials are set as PUBLIC. DO NOT publish the data unless you see the required wp-admin / FTP fields.
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Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )German (Deutsch )
Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)
This staging site currently has no credits assigned and is not subscribed to "Pay As You Go".
I completed all reviews, and realized that there were some translated layouts that were still saved as draft.
I then switched the translation mode to "Translate What You Choose" to be able to test the translations.
I see that the issue here is, that the Homepage was translated automatically, and it is expecting a review. Somehow this review is not opening.
This jobs seems to have gotten stuck. Usually editing the original content and saving it, then translating the page again should solve this issue.
On the staging I am currently stuck, as I can not enable "Translate Everything Automatically" again without subscribing to "Pay As You Go". You can only access reviews if the mode "Translate Everything Automatically" is enabled.
Now, this might be something that I better try to fix on your live site.
Would this be possible?
If so, take note that the private reply form is enabled again.
Another issue I am having in addition to this whilst I am working on the english version of the site, the WPML plugin is not even loaded but the page I am working on has decided to show the german translation!
I also have repeat pages in german translation in the pages section on my wordpress dashboard. The plugin is still not activated. Could you help here please this is a real mess.
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )German (Deutsch )
Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)
I was able to complete the review for your homepage and homepage and you can see the translated page now here: hidden link
Take note, that you site uses the WPML Translation Editor as translation method and it is recommended to only use the WordPress Editor on the original contents. Then translate them with the WPML Translation Editor in each language.
Do not edit the translations directly on the WordPress Editor, as the WPML Translation Editor can not recognize such changes and will overwrite them.
Duplicated pages while WPML is disabled are expected. WPML does by default not remove the translated pages and post and will assign them to site default language once the plugin is disabled.
You were reporting another issue, but you did not provide an example. Please send a link to a content that is having an issue and explain in short steps how to recreate the issue.
1. I'm not editing the german text in the wordpress editor, I was using the WPML editor and clicking through from the dashboard to the front end.
2. Starting from the English version, when you click the german flag in the menu, the content changes to German for a second but then flicks back to english. It doesn't stay on german unless you use the google translate changer that is offered on my browser but this is not using the WPML language changer.
3. Regarding the german language. The client had wanted to change some of the phrases in the way the english was translated to german as the translation was a bit clunky. This was done in the WPML editor on the front but was not saving. I see now that everything was published, do you know if the changes were kept from the editor?
4. There was also a problem with some of the text on the english version staying in german. why is this happening please?
5. I also had a problem of some capital letters on words were missing and gone to lower case throughout the site.
I hope this gives you some clarity of the issues I'm facing with this plugin. Did you look at my settings for it? Maybe I had done something wrong?
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )German (Deutsch )
Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)
I will be glad to look into all those issues for you, but I need to ask you to please provide examples. Ideal would be links to the pages on which I can see those issues.
